Obama: 'No Excuse' for Ferguson Violence

President Barack Obama said Thursday there is “no excuse” for violence against police or protestors in Ferguson, Mo., where intense clashes have broken out following the shooting death by police of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

In his first public statement on the death and subsequent violence, Obama appealed for justice and calm, calling on all sides to deescalate a tense situation that has embroiled the town in violence for five days. “I know that many Americans have been deeply disturbed by the images that we’ve seen in the heartland of our country,” Obama said.

Earlier this week, Obama tasked Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to begin an independent investigation of Brown’s death. “I made clear to the Attorney General that we should do what is necessary to help determine exactly what happened and to see that justice is done,” Obama said. He was briefed by Holder on Thursday morning on the status of the investigation.

Obama faulted local police for their secrecy surrounding the shooting, as well as the excessive violence used against peaceful protestors. “When something like this happens, the local authorities, including the police, have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating that death and how they are protecting the people in their communities,” Obama said. “There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Holder echoed Obama’s remarks in a statement of his own later Thursday, saying he was “deeply concerned” at the deployment of military equipment and vehicles on the streets of Ferguson. He said local authorities had accepted an offer of “technical assistance” by the Justice Department to “help conduct crowd control and maintain public safety without relying on unnecessarily extreme displays of force.”

Obama also made reference to the brief arrest of two reporters in Ferguson on Wednesday night by police that became wall-to-wall news nationwide. “Here in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see on the ground,”

Obama said he spoke with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday before addressing reporters, calling the governor “a good man and a fine governor.”

“I’m confident that working together, he’s going to be able to communicate his desire to make sure that justice is done and his desire to make sure that public safety is maintained in an appropriate way,” he said.

“Now is the time for healing,” Obama said. “Now is the time for peace and calm on the streets of Ferguson.”

Witness Tension Between Police and Protestors in Ferguson, Mo.

A man backs away as law enforcement officials close in on him and eventually detain him during protests over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager killed by a police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 11, 2014.

Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/Redux

Riot police force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

A child uses a rag to shield his face from tear gas fired by riot police, who used it to force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Police officers keep watch from an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 11, 2014

Mario Anzuoni—Reuters

Police officers ride an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014.

Mario Anzuoni—Reuters

A demonstrator raises his hands in front of of a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014.

Mario Anzuoni—Reuters

Riot police lock down a neighborhood in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

People raise their hands in the middle of the street as riot police move toward their position trying to get them to disperse, in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014.

Jeff Roberson—AP

Demonstrators raise their hands and chant "hands up, don't shoot" during a protest over the killing of Michael Brown on in Clayton, Mo. on August 12, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton speaks about the killing of teenager Michael Brown at a press conference held on the steps of the old courthouse in St. Louis on Aug. 12, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Police take up position to control demonstrators who were protesting the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 12, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on August 12, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown outside Greater St. Marks Family Church in St. Louis on Aug. 12, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Police stand watch as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers worked to break up a group of bystanders on Chambers Road near West Florissant in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014.

Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT/Zuma Press

Police officers work their way north on West Florissant Avenue clearing the road of people in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.

Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP

Demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

People run through smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.

Jeff Roberson—AP

A protester takes shelter from smoke billowing around him in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.

David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP

An explosive device deployed by police flies in the air as police and protesters clash in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 13, 2014

Jeff Roberson—AP

Thousands of demonstrators peacefully march to the spot where Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014.

Jeff Roberson—AP

Demetrus Washington joins other demonstrators protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Demonstrators protest outside of Greater St. Marks Family Church in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014.

Lucas Jackson—Reuters

Protesters light candles as they take part in a peaceful demonstration in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014.

Lucas Jackson—Reuters

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson (L) speaks to protesters as he walks through a peaceful demonstration as communities continue to react to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014.

Lucas Jackson—Reuters

A young child looks out from a car as demonstrators drive down West Florissant Avenue protesting the shooting and death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 15, 2014.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

A demonstrator walks through smoke launched by police after a skirmish in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 15, 2014

Scott Olson—Getty Images

A demonstrator protests on Florissant Ave in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 16, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—NOOR for TIME

Children walk past police officers during a demonstration in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 16, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME

Protestors help a man who was injured by tear gas thrown by police after refusing to disperse after the midnight curfew in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME

Protestors throw canisters
in Ferguson, Mo. on August 18, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME

Protestors demonstrate against the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. on August 17, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—NOOR for TIME

A protestor during demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo. on August 17, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME

A protestor retaliates against police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME

A protestor throws a canister of tear gas back at police during demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014.

Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME

Police wait to advance after tear gas was used to dispersed a crowd in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014.

Police wait to advance after tear gas was used to disperse a crowd in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014.

Charlie Riedel—AP

Tear gas rains down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air during a demonstration in Ferguson on Aug. 17, 2014. The "hands up, don't shoot" pose became the defining gesture of the protests.

Scott Olson—Getty Images

Protesters attempt to treat a woman who was in a cloud of tear gas thrown by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014.

Lucas Jackson—Reuters

Demonstrators march down West Florissant Ave. during a peaceful march in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown near Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014.

Lucas Jackson—Reuters

Demonstrators march down West Florissant during a peaceful march in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown, near Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014.

Lucas Jackson—Reuters

Police tackle a man who was walking down the street in front of McDonald's in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014.

Laurie Skrivan—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP

Law enforcement officers watch on during a protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014.

Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images

Demonstrators cover their faces as tear gas fills the air as police fire the gas against an unruly crowd protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug.18, 2014

Joe Raedle—Getty Images

A protestor wearing a gas mask stands with his hands up while facing armed police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014.

Abe Van Dyke—Demotix/Corbis

Police fire tear gas in the direction of where bottles were thrown from crowds gathered near the QuikTrip on W. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014.

David Carson—St Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris

Demonstrators stand in the middle of West Florissant as they react to tear gas fired by police during ongoing protests in reaction to the shooting of teenager Michael Brown, near Ferguson, Missouri, August 18, 2014.